Eric Cantona Biography and Wallpapers

Eric Cantona Biography

Eric Cantona Biography - Introduction - One person seeing Eric Cantona play in a match will define him as charismatic, while a different supporter from an opposing stand will define him as a madman. The truth is that Cantona was a little bit of everything and his "madness" combined with his charm and of course, his impressive playing ability earned him a legendary status wherever he played. Let's take a look at how the Frenchman progressed throughout his career:

Eric Cantona Biography – Auxerre - Born in Marseille, Cantona always hoped he would play soccer for local giants Olympique, but since he did not get in their youth team, he was redirected to Auxerre. Auxerre's youth teams would be Cantona's home for 2 seasons, before being taken on to the first squad at age 18.

His promising future with the team was put on hold for a while, as he joined the military and carried out his national service for the entirety of 1984, losing crucial training periods that made him unusable for Auxerre next season.

Therefore, Eric Cantona was loaned to second division team FC Martigues, where he would play 15 matches, scoring his first professional goals. Returning to Auxerre in 1986, he would finally win his place in the first squad and during his next two seasons with the club, he managed to score 23 goals that brought him in the eyes of the team that he was a fan of in his childhood: Olympique Marseille.

Eric Cantona Biography – Olympique Marseille - Unfortunately, Cantona's time at Marseille would not be without bumps. After just one season with the club, in which he scored only 5 goals, his coach decided to loan him out so he can get more playing experience.

Therefore he went on to Bordeaux on a loan transfer, where he would only play half of 1989's season, before being loaned to another French first division team, Montpellier. Returning to Marseille in 1990, Eric Cantona helped the club win their national title, but he was at odds with Coach Raymond Goethals and Chairman Bernard Tapie.

His difficult and often conflicting nature meant that he had to move from Marseille again, but this time on a transfer to Nimes instead of some short term loan option.

His temper didn't settle down here either: during a match, he threw a ball in anger towards the referee and when he was called up to a hearing committee to explain his actions. There, Cantona walked up to each of the comitee's members and called them "idiot" straight to the face, earning himself a 3-month ban from the pitch.

Eric Cantona Biography – Manchester United - After the events at Nimes, Cantona was decided to retire from football but he was quickly persuaded back by Michel Platini and Gerard Houllier, who helped him on a fresh new start in England. Cantona moved to Leeds United in 1992 and played 28 matches for the club, before he was bought by the club where he would earn god-like status: Manchester United.

Eric Cantona is often linked to the revival of Manchester United in the top of English and European soccer, as he helped the club win the Premiership title in 1993 and 1994, after a long drought. But Cantona's madness would strike again in January 1995, in an away match against Crystal Palace. After being sent-off the pitch, one of the Crystal Palace supporters in the stand had the unfortunate idea to taunt Cantona.

I have to admit, what followed is both amusing and shocking: Cantona flew over the ad boards surrounding the field and kung-fu kicked the fan in the chest. Subsequently, in the trials following this incident it was proven that the fan, Matthew Simmons learned something from Cantona, as he leaped over a bench in the middle of the trial, kicking the prosecutor in pretty much the same way Cantona did to him.

Cantona ended his career at Manchester United and the fans still consider him the savior of the team, as he brought back Man U in the spotlights after a long time.

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